Karen Price (kkprice, #411) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Crochet Merit Badge!

“I started out by making a couple of scarves and some dog blankets to donate to a shelter. I taught a girlfriend how to make a blanket, too. Crochet is addictive. It's so nice to make something for someone else.”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Karen Price (kkprice, #411) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Expert Level Crochet Merit Badge!

“I made another afghan and have other projects started. I also have taught several groups of women how to crochet rag rugs. I have crocheted so much that I've irritated my torn rotator cuff so that my arm goes numb -- I hate it when I have to take a break!”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Karen Price (kkprice, #411) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Knitting Merit Badge!

“I made a couple of dozen purses, felted them and sold them. Also made a case for my ukulele. I taught my son how to make a dishcloth. I delighted in seeing how combinations of fiber came together after the purses had been felted. They looked great.”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Karen Price (kkprice, #411) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Buttoned Up Merit Badge!

“I have at least 250 buttons and I keep accumulating more. My Mom always has had a great collection and I still like to fondle them. My buttons are in separate jars by color categories. I often add a button to a project and I can go right to the best color.”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Karen Price (kkprice, #411) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Spinning Merit Badge!

“This is the second time I've attempted to spin. I did it, it was awful looking. I think it's official -- as much as I love the image of sitting in front of a spinning wheel -- I just don't have the ability!”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Kristina Nelson (FieldsofThyme, #800) has received a certificate of achievement in Make it Easy for earning an Intermediate Level Relaxation Merit Badge!

“There are several things I do now, that reduce my stress levels and keep me happy and calm.

I have a habit of baking when I am stressed. It is therapy for me. Other than that these are other ways to reduce my stress:-enjoy a cup of tea/coffee on my front porch, weather permitting-go camping-crochet, knit or do other crafts-put up an outside wall tent for privacy and a place to retreat to-write-sit outside in the sun-take weekend getaways with only my husband”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Kristina Nelson (FieldsofThyme, #800) has received a certificate of achievement in Make it Easy for earning an Expert Level Relaxation Merit Badge!

“My husband and I joined a nearby gym to help reduce our stress, and keep ourselves happy and healthy.

In the past, I have taken a dutch oven cooking class with one of my daughters, and am researching new classes in our area. Currently there are no classes for what I am interested in, but continue to watch for any to start. I am currently participating in an online course (with our current health provider) regarding stress. In the meantime, I am self-teaching myself weaving.”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Kristina Nelson (FieldsofThyme, #800) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an Intermediate Level Cheesemaking Merit Badge!

“I used rennet for the first time last summer. Instead of a simple "hard" cheese, I made a simple soft cheese - ricotta (using our goat's milk). I posted about it on my blog and shared it with Farmgirls. For this cheese, I simply used cooled goat’s milk, and it was left at room temperature for 12 hours. There is not a specific temperature for making homemade ricotta cheese with raw goat’s milk (other than starting with the milk, strained, and chilled).”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Emily Hack (alterationsbyemily, #2951) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Knitting Merit Badge!

“This was one of the hardest Merit Badges for me. When I was about 9 I wanted to learn to knit, my mother purchased me yarn needles and a book, I kept trying on and off through the years and could not even get a cast on. The more I tried the more frustrated me and my teachers got. Finally, I was in my local yarn store and found a bright yellow batch of yarn. Something about it told me I would learn to knit with it. I purchased it along with a set of wooden needles. My dear husband then took me to a bookstore and gave me the pick of all the knitting books. I found Knitting by Carri Hammett. It ended up being the perfect book. The pictures were very clear and I was able to go back and look at them, understanding them each time. I cast on 15 stitches and started on a one skein scarf.

I sat with my friend Mary and showed her my scarf. Together, using large needles, she knitted a small potholder. She learned the basics with me and we helped each other along.

It turned out great. I finally leaned to knit something. After I bound it off and weaved the ends in I was so proud I wore it to the mailbox.”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Denise Meister (Denisemgm, #1976) has received a certificate of achievement in Make it Easy for earning a Beginner Level Music Merit Badge!

“I listened to my 13-year-old daughter play Mozart (classical genre) on the piano: the rhythm changed from her minuet to a lively trill (which also shows harmoney and melody).

I am loving "I Will Wait" by Mumford and Sons - from the Bluegrass genre. The playing of the banjo with its super fast rhythm and then the stopping for the somewhat ballad-y vocals shows the harmony and melody.

I am also listening to Macklemore's "ThriftShop" because my 10-year-old son loves it (he doesn't love Mumford and Sons -boo!). The rythm in this genre (rap) is very stable with a solid beat. The melody stays pretty stable as well with the singer keeping a similar tone throughout.”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Denise Meister (Denisemgm, #1976) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Recycling Merit Badge!

“The local recycling center will take cardboard, newspapers, magazines, many plastics, most bottles, cans, office supplied, etc. They will take florescent light bulbs for a small fee. They will take televisions and other such electronics once a year at a community pick-up site.

Curbside will take all of the above. They will not take food-tainted paper products (plates, towels). No pizza boxes or egg cartons. No ice creams cartons or aluminum foil. No Styrofoam, aerosol cans, or batteries. I only recently learned about the pizza boxes and egg cartons.

Now I just need to get my family to stop throwing garbage in the recycling bin (seems to be an ongoing struggle!).”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Denise Meister (Denisemgm, #1976) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning an Intermediate Level Recycling Merit Badge!

“The recycling system at our house is to have a paper grocery bag in the kitchen away from the actual garbage. My husband buys a newspaper everyday, so often the paper bag collects his newspaper in addition to cereal boxes, tin cans, glass jars. A couple times a week this paper bag gets sent out to the recycling bin we keep outside.

I'm still working with my family to NOT throw plastic wrap or other miscellaneous garbage in there. I just got a printed sheet from the garbage company of what to recycle and what not to recycle. I'm going to post it near the paper bag that collects the recycling. Hopefully it will help!”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Karen Price (kkprice, #411) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Expert Level Blogging Merit Badge!

“I'm an official regular blogger. Part of what I really enjoy is taking a photo that coordinates well with a post I'm working on. I continue to learn. So far I have just a handful of folks who follow what I've written and provide me with encouragement and constructive comments.”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Katrina Smith (Kat-Nina, #4813) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a Beginner Level Get it Together Merit Badge!

“I just went through my kitchen and got rid of everything that didn't have a lid. For me this was mostly old tupperware and used water bottles. I was able to get rid of enough to make room for "new" pie plates from my mother. I say new because they are hand me down plates from my great grand mother and it is a blessing to receive them as I am the pie maker in the family. I am a very type A personality anyway so it felt good to go through and reorganize the kitchen real well.

I think it turned out very well. The only hitch was the my kids were a little confused the first few days about how to put dishes away. They learned quick and in the long run the cabinets are much more orderly and cleaner than they have been in a while.”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Katrina Smith (Kat-Nina, #4813) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Embroidery Merit Badge!

“I did the sampler like the guidelines instructed. I looked up some of the examples from the website to get an idea of what to do and that helped a lot. I decided to use colors that would work well with my house and then worked on it a lot while my kids were in their after school activities. It took quite a bit of time. The items I chose to put into the sampler are items around my property (the tools, the chicken, etc.).

I think I did okay. It is definitely a learning piece but it came together over all. There were several stitches that I had to look up and really practice because they didn't come easy but in the end I got it. I can say that I am looking forward to the next project and have already purchased the towels that I am going to work on making.”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~

Katrina Smith (Kat-Nina, #4813) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Farmgirl Gratitude Merit Badge!

“I read The Book of Awesome which I thought was kind of odd but at the same time I agreed with on many levels. It was an easy read and a lot of the things that it talked about are not things that I had thought about in a long time. I do like that the author looked at things from both the male and female perspective, that was cool. I also kept my gratitude journal for a month.

I like keeping a journal and have done so since I was a young teen but this is different than a gratitude journal, this concept is harder. I found that it helped my attitude a lot. I've been going through a lot of medical trials as of late and so I found that this task actually helped my mental status. This was a bonus that I was not expecting and so I may continue this even though my time is up. I think this is a healthy way to keep your spirits up.”

MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~